As the use of computers in both the workforce and personal life has increased, so has the desire to allow for easier use of them. Many operating systems today utilize a windows based configuration of application programs. Information is displayed on a display screen in what appears to be several sheets of paper.
In existing environments application windows, the desktop and items on the desktop (e.g., icons representing folders, files, applications, etc.) form the core of user interface facilities for the graphical user interface (GUI) of computer systems. While these core facilities can vary in appearance across systems, they have multiple attributes in common. For example, application windows typically have a title bar including window management controls such as a “close” button to dismiss the window, the ability to resize or reposition the window, and the ability to coexist with other windows from the same application or different applications. GUIs which allow for desktop icons also allow such icons to be resized or repositioned. Additionally, the desktop picture or background image for user interfaces can be changed from a default picture or image to another image based on user preferences.
Collectively, the core facilities are presented on screen in a layered manner called a Z-order based on a set of common rules in what is referred to as a “Z-order”. For example, the desktop picture or background image is generally presented at the bottom, behind or below other user elements stacked or layered on top the picture or image. The desktop elements remain at the bottom of the stack while the application windows can change their position in a visual stack based on which application window is active and in focus. Thus, when multiple application windows are open on a GUI, the active window is at the top of the Z-order while the remaining windows are inactive and located below the active window in the Z-order. However, in certain instances windows may be rendered side by side such that the user looking at the display may have difficulty in determining which of the windows is active.
In GUIs today, each user interface (UI) element (i.e. text, controls, frames, etc) in the various user interface facilities is rendered in a sharp, crisp manner. Visual techniques to aid in illustrating the layering (Z-order) have included addition of ‘drop shadows’ (on windows) and the use of different visual representations of active and inactive states. When multiple application windows are open on a GUI, each window, whether active or inactive is rendered in a sharp, crisp manner. In the Windows XP Brand operating System by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., when a window is active, the title bar is a bright blue and when a window is inactive the title is pale blue; in both cases the window content is sharp and crisp. In the Mac OS 10 operating system by Apple Computing, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., when a window is active the title bar is opaque and when a window is inactive the title bar is marginally transparent; in both cases the window content is sharp and crisp. Both Windows XP and Mac OS 10 represent the active and inactive states in a rather subtle manner, which some users may not appreciate, which can lead to difficulty in determining which window is active.
While various visual techniques exist to represent the active and inactive states of UI elements, some users may not readily be able to determine which elements are active and inactive. Accordingly, it would be helpful to provide a further visual indication as to the states of UI elements.